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by Julia James, Geoff Pender, Bobby Harrison, Taylor Vance and Adam Ganucheau
Mississippi At present
Gov. Tate Reeves’ prime marketing campaign contributors netted $1.4 billion in state contracts or grants from businesses the governor oversees, a Mississippi At present investigation discovered.
Of the 88 particular person or company donors who’ve given Reeves’ campaigns no less than $50,000, Mississippi At present recognized 15 donors whose corporations acquired a complete of $1.4 billion in state contracts or grants since he took workplace in 2020.
The investigation reveals how non-public corporations, whose executives routinely donate massive sums to politicians, can rake in tons of of thousands and thousands in Mississippi taxpayer funds whereas having the ear of highly effective elected officers.
Reeves, probably the most prolific political fundraisers in state historical past, has set quite a few annual and office-specific marketing campaign donation data. However he’s been criticized by Republican and Democratic opponents as transactional — a politician who helps those that immediately assist him.
The $1.4 billion whole in state contracts recognized by Mississippi At present doesn’t embody dozens of extra contracts the Reeves donors have acquired from state businesses not led by the governor. For instance, the Mississippi Division of Transportation awarded the governor’s prime donors no less than $552 million since 2020.
The full additionally doesn’t embody thousands and thousands in incentives and tax breaks lots of his prime donors have acquired, and it doesn’t embody any state contracts that Reeves donors who’ve given lower than $50,000 might have acquired.
In contrast to many different states, Mississippi has no basic “pay-to-play” prohibition, restrictions or particular reporting necessities for marketing campaign contributions from folks or corporations doing enterprise with state authorities.
The truth is, it’s widespread for homeowners or executives of corporations that reap thousands and thousands of {dollars} a yr from Mississippi taxpayers to be among the many largest donors to the state’s prime public officers.
And it’s not simply Reeves.
The governor’s marketing campaign has accused his Democratic challenger Brandon Presley, who has served 15 years on the Public Service Fee, of illegally accepting marketing campaign contributions from corporations that had enterprise earlier than the fee. One firm highlighted in Reeves’ public complaints gave Presley no less than $16,500 in marketing campaign donations.
Presley did vote to grant the corporate approval for a challenge, however he and others — together with one in all his Republican colleagues on the fee — preserve accepting the contributions didn’t violate state legislation.
Examples of donors whose corporations acquired state contracts
Centene
The second largest marketing campaign donor to Reeves can also be the one largest state contract recipient — and one which not too long ago needed to settle a lawsuit claiming it overcharged state businesses.
Centene, a St. Louis-based well being care firm that ranks twenty fifth on the Forbes listing of prime 500 corporations, is the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care firm. Via its subsidiary firm Magnolia Well being, it’s the recipient of a $1.2 billion managed care contract.
Centene LLC has contributed $318,000 throughout Reeves’ political campaigns, together with a single test for $100,000 in 2023. The Centene PAC has contributed one other $44,000 over the course of Reeves’ profession.
In 2022, Centene was amongst three corporations chosen by Reeves’ Division of Medicaid to proceed to supply managed care companies to Medicaid sufferers. The contracts had been awarded via a blind bidding course of. It’s estimated the whole price of the newest Centene contract is round $1.2 billion, although these numbers are fluid based mostly on varied components, such because the variety of folks enrolled in Medicaid.
Magnolia, the Centene subsidiary, has a protracted relationship with the Mississippi Medicaid program. Since 2017, Magnolia has acquired state contracts totaling greater than $9 billion. These contracts had been awarded earlier than Reeves was governor, although they got here whereas he was lieutenant governor and serving because the presiding officer of the Senate.
Centene acquired its most up-to-date contract extension after settling a lawsuit filed in 2021 by the state of Mississippi. That settlement — $55 million — got here after state Auditor Shad White and Legal professional Common Lynn Fitch accused one other Centene firm of overcharging the state for prescribed drugs for Medicaid sufferers.
In 2022, after the Centene lawsuit settlement, Republican state Rep. Becky Currie of Brookhaven provided and handed a Home modification that may have prohibited Centene from receiving one other state contract. Whereas the modification handed the Home, it died later within the legislative course of.
“I’m getting rid of doing enterprise with the corporate who took $55 million of our cash that was speculated to be spent on the poor, the sick, the aged, the mentally unwell, the disabled,” Currie mentioned of the Centene contract on the time. “Final yr in 2021, Centene introduced in a $126 billion revenue. They’re in different states, that’s not simply from us. However that’s all taxpayers’ cash. They don’t make something, they don’t deal with anyone, they don’t do something, they only get taxpayers’ cash from states.”
Centene officers didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Rob Wells and YoungWilliams
Rob Wells, the CEO of Ridgeland-based YoungWilliams legislation agency that receives one of many state’s largest contracts, has contributed no less than $173,500 individually to Reeves going again via his political profession.
Since Reeves was elected governor, the Mississippi Division of Human Providers, which Reeves oversees immediately, awarded YoungWilliams a $135 million state contract to gather little one assist funds.
In late 2020, Mississippi At present revealed a narrative revealing Wells’ contributions to Reeves and different politicians in addition to questions on YoungWiliams’ contract with the state. After the article was revealed, Wells stopped donating individually to Reeves. However he has nonetheless discovered a technique to get his private political contributions to the governor.
Wells donated $120,000 to a newly shaped political motion committee known as the MS Construct PAC, in accordance with data filed with the Secretary of State. The PAC has since diverted no less than $80,000 of its funds to Reeves’ marketing campaign.
And earlier than Reeves’ governorship, when the Division of Human Providers was overseen by former Gov. Phil Bryant, YoungWilliams had acquired a $58 million state contract.
Reeves was presiding over the Senate as lieutenant governor when laws was handed to permit the kid assist program to be privatized, thus opening the door for the contracts acquired by YoungWiliams.
In response to the Transparency Mississippi internet web page, the newest YoungWilliams contract was awarded via a aggressive bidding course of.
Wells didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Neil Forbes and Horne LLP
Neil Forbes, one in all Reeves’ prime political donors, is the managing companion of Horne LLP, a Ridgeland-based accounting agency that has dozens of contracts with quite a few state businesses.
Since Reeves was elected governor, Horne has acquired no less than $13 million in contracts from businesses Reeves immediately oversees.
When COVID-19 gripped the state and gutted the financial system, the Mississippi Division of Employment Providers was overrun with unemployment requests. The federal authorities had appropriated thousands and thousands to Mississippi and different states to complement their very own current unemployment funds. With tens of hundreds of Mississippians out of labor and an enormous pot of cash out there to help them, the state’s employment company wanted assist.
In April 2020, Forbes, on behalf of Horne, signed a $10 million contract with MDES to ascertain a name heart and workflows to assist the state with the surge of unemployment requests. Forbes signed a second contract with MDES in April 2021 that was price $2.2 million for a similar objective.
In each instances, Reeves signed emergency orders permitting the state’s employment company to enter into no-bid, emergency contracts with Horne. Outdoors these two COVID-related contracts, Horne additionally acquired an extra $455,000 in state contracts from different businesses Reeves oversees.
Forbes, who was made a managing companion of Horne in 2021, had by no means donated to Reeves’ campaigns earlier than the huge COVID-era contracts got here. However on Aug. 25, 2021, Forbes reduce Reeves a primary marketing campaign test for $2,500. The following month, in September 2021, Forbes wrote Reeves a $10,000 test. In two separate checks in 2022, Forbes wrote one other $20,000 to the governor.
Then in February of 2023, simply two weeks after Presley introduced he would problem Reeves’ bid for reelection, Forbes wrote Reeves a $25,000 test.
Whereas Forbes started writing checks to the governor, so did his spouse. Avery Forbes wrote Reeves a $5,000 test in July 2022 — additionally her first to the governor. And on April 27, 2023, she wrote Reeves a $25,000 test.
In whole, the Forbeses, who had by no means given to Reeves earlier than Neil Forbes grew to become managing companion at Horne in 2021, have given the governor’s marketing campaign $87,500 in contributions.
Neil Forbes didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Covington Civil & Environmental
Covington Civil and Environmental, an engineering guide agency with workplaces in Gulfport and Cellular, is one in all Reeves’ largest donors.
The corporate has donated greater than $66,000 to his campaigns. Firm officers and associated LLC’s have additionally given hundreds extra to Reeves.
Covington, regardless of having little expertise on the time in environmental restoration, garnered contracts price $36 million from former Gov. Phil Bryant’s administration from the state’s $2.2 billion settlement over the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe in 2010.
Below Reeves’ administration, Covington has gotten $792,000 in contracts, together with a $500,000 no-bid contract from Reeves’ Division of Finance and Administration to assist supervise the state’s federally funded broadband web enlargement efforts.
Covington didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Different states restrict political donations from contractors
Some states, together with California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, have prohibitions or strict limits on marketing campaign donations by authorities contractors to politicians. Others, together with Maryland, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have particular marketing campaign donation reporting necessities for corporations and their officers who contribute to candidates.
Within the early 2000s, quite a few states and enormous cities thought of or enacted pay-to-play restrictions or prohibitions. Usually these had been in response to scandals or corruption.
However for the reason that 2010 U.S. Supreme Court docket Residents United ruling, there was much less of a push for such limitations. In that case the excessive court docket held First Modification freedom of speech prohibits the federal government from limiting impartial expenditures by companies on behalf of political campaigns. Some state courts adopted swimsuit. For instance, in Colorado, a constitutional modification handed by voters prohibiting sole-source state contractors and their households from contributing to campaigns was struck down as unconstitutional by the state’s Supreme Court docket.
Reform supporters say unregulated political contributions current an actual hazard of corruption, or no less than the looks of corruption, in authorities contracting. Opponents of such legal guidelines say prohibitions or restrictions on marketing campaign contributions by authorities contractors restrict their freedom of speech.
Mississippi’s marketing campaign finance, lobbying and ethics legal guidelines and reporting necessities are notably weak, and contained in a piecemeal patchwork of complicated — and a few conflicting — legal guidelines handed over a few years. However even when Mississippi had stricter marketing campaign finance legal guidelines, it’s unclear who would possibly implement them.
The secretary of state’s workplace and Ethics Fee have for years mentioned they lack enforcement or investigative authority. The secretary of state’s workplace is accountable for receiving marketing campaign finance stories however serves primarily as a repository, with no actual investigative or enforcement authority. The Ethics Fee, after some adjustments to legal guidelines lately, seems to have some authority, however it’s unclear.
“It’s a multitude,” state Ethics Fee Director Tom Hood mentioned not too long ago of Mississippi’s marketing campaign finance legal guidelines. “Adjustments (to the legislation) have been made a number of instances over a number of years, and it’s like making an attempt to place collectively a jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t match.”
Legal professional Common Lynn Fitch, because the state’s prime legislation officer, runs the one state company with clear authority to research and prosecute marketing campaign finance violations. However Fitch, like her latest predecessors, has proven little curiosity in investigating or prosecuting complaints and imposing marketing campaign finance legal guidelines.
Mississippi lawyer basic actions on marketing campaign funds or lobbying over time have been so uncommon that, once they do occur, they bring about outcry of selective enforcement.
Most frequently, marketing campaign finance violations go unchecked, leaving the state political system open to the corrosive affect of particular curiosity cash.
Mississippi’s system additionally lacks transparency. As an example, in contrast to all neighboring states, Mississippi’s marketing campaign finance stories usually are not electronically searchable. They’re PDF recordsdata, and a few politicians nonetheless submit hand-written stories. One lately submitted hers in calligraphy.
Mississippi permits politicians (besides some judges) to take limitless marketing campaign contributions from people, LLCs and PACs. Whereas there’s a $1,000-a-year restrict on company donations, that is simply sidestepped by company officers or lobbyists donating massive quantities.
State lawmakers for a few years have been loath to enact significant reform, transparency or oversight of the intersection of politics and cash. This leaves the door extensive open for corruption.
Quite a few complaints about Mississippi cash in politics
This yr’s statewide marketing campaign cycle has seen quite a few complaints about alleged marketing campaign finance violations, in a number of races moreover the gubernatorial one. Earlier this yr, out-of-state darkish cash teams pumped greater than $1.4 million into the Republican main race for Mississippi lieutenant governor, in assist of unsuccessful GOP candidate Chris McDaniel. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann filed authorized complaints with the AG’s workplace.
There have been different questions on Public Service Fee candidate marketing campaign funds this election cycle. PSC candidates face stricter marketing campaign finance legal guidelines, enacted by state lawmakers years in the past after previous scandals and corruption with the utility regulating authority. PSC candidates are prohibited from taking contributions from officers of public utilities whose charges the fee units.
The Magnolia Tribune in June questioned a donation to gubernatorial candidate Presley from a regulated utility. Presley returned the $500 donation, saying it was mistakenly accepted. The publication additionally questioned donations to Presley and Central District Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey from a legislation agency that represents the PSC, with its charges paid by Entergy, a regulated energy firm.
Each Bailey and Presley have denied their questioned contributions fall beneath the PSC marketing campaign finance prohibition. A photo voltaic firm that donated to Presley is threatening to sue Reeves over advertisements he’s working saying its donations to Presley had been unlawful.
Within the Southern District PSC race, challenger Wayne Carr — who defeated incumbent Republican Commissioner Dane Maxwell within the main — claimed Maxwell took $18,000 in unlawful contributions from PSC-regulated utilities or associates and did not report hundreds in marketing campaign spending. Maxwell denied any wrongdoing, however returned among the donations, saying he unknowingly accepted some he shouldn’t have.
The complaints of legally questionable spending and reporting prompted requires Fitch to research, and for reform in state marketing campaign finance legal guidelines.
Each incumbent Republicans Hosemann and Secretary of State Michael Watson have vowed to push marketing campaign finance reform within the 2024 Legislature. Presley has made such reform a predominant plank in his platform throughout his 2023 gubernatorial marketing campaign.
One space that can doubtless be debated by lawmakers is what elected official or company would examine and implement marketing campaign finance complaints and laws. In quite a few different states, ethics commissions or particular commissions oversee such operations. In some states, elected officers equivalent to secretaries of state have such duty.
Hood not too long ago mentioned he’s not pushing lawmakers for big will increase in funding or authority for the Mississippi’s Ethics Fee. However he would really like for legal guidelines and tasks to be clearer, notably with marketing campaign finance points.
“Anyone must have clear authority and duty to implement the legislation — that may be first step,” Hood mentioned.
This text first appeared on Mississippi At present and is republished right here beneath a Artistic Commons license.
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